America leads the way in incarceration rates for ethnic minorities, but there is a similar problem in the UK.
Photograph: Fat Chance Productions/CORBIS

Where America leads, Britain usually follows. Art and culture, film and fashion, language and political ideas all have a habit of crossing the Atlantic. But in one important area of British life we must resist this trend: the incarceration rates for ethnic minorities.

The numbers have shock value, but in Britain we have our own problems. Black people here are almost four times more likely than white people to be behind bars. Similarly, the number of Muslim prisoners has nearly doubled in the last decade. We have not reached US levels yet, but these are problems that must be confronted.

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When the prime minister asked me to conduct an independent review into this issue I accepted with little hesitation. I have had to put to one side day-to-day party differences because the review is a rare chance to forge a cross-party consensus on an issue that is complex, contested and divisive. It is also a chance to hear voices from beyond Westminster and Whitehall, from judges to community groups; prison officers to offenders themselves.

The first challenge is to unpick the facts. It is the case, for example, that offenders from minority backgrounds are more likely to face prison sentences than white offenders for the same offences. The odds are 39% greater, in fact, according to recent analysis.

Many will attribute this to old-fashioned discrimination, and that is certainly what black and Muslim offenders were keen to convey to me on a visit to Pentonville prison a few weeks ago. One Muslim prisoner, who was from Yorkshire and had been sentenced at York crown court, put it quite plainly: “My solicitor was white, my barrister was white, the prosecutor was white, the judge was white, the jury was white, and when I first went to prison the governor was white and so were all the guards.”

If his experience and viewpoint are representative of many, we have a serious problem. Looking at the diversity of staff in our justice system will be one aspect of the review. Ultimately, any justice system must be founded on trust, fairness and equality before the law, irrespective of ethnicity, social class or background.

Another way forward may be the emerging body of work around “implicit bias”. Evidence from this field shows how we can all exhibit biases in our behaviour without even being aware of them. Experiments show CVs with “white-sounding” names being treated more favourably than those with names linked to minority backgrounds, for example.

Others will want to interrogate these figures about the justice system further. It appears to be the case, for example, that defendants from minority backgrounds are less likely to plead guilty and benefit from reduced sentences through plea bargains. Perhaps this explains the greater likelihood of going to prison.

However, often one answer poses another question; if minorities plead “not guilty” more often than average, why is this the case? Are defendants from minority backgrounds receiving inferior legal advice? Or is it because they do not trust the system to deliver on its promises? Is there another explanation altogether for minorities making different choices in similar situations?

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The point is that too often we don’t know the answer. Many have strong hunches, but a consensus can only be achieved through hard facts and rigorous analysis. Over the course of the next year my review will provide that, starting with an open call to evidence from anyone who wants to contribute. There will be a formal process for people to get involved through the gov.uk website, alongside opportunities for people to connect and debate the issues on social media.

I will examine whether the system treats people fairly – as well as what more can be done to help offenders from minority backgrounds turn their lives around. That means understanding if prisoners from particular backgrounds are more likely to get stuck in cycles of reoffending – and what more can be done about it. When half of all crime is committed by people who have already been through the criminal justice system – costing up to £13bn per year – we need answers to these questions.

In the US this problem is being tackled with a growing urgency. Last year, America’s crime rate and incarceration rate both fell for the first time in four decades. We need to share that vision. My job in leading this review for England and Wales is to take action before things get that bad, and put our country on a path to different future.